New Beginnings

But let me back up a second. The tubing trip was fun. Cristy's visit was a blast and a little nerve wracking. Nerve wracking for two reasons, there was shipping drama when the place she had a quote from fell through and we had to scramble to figure out how to ship her stuff - USPS FTW! Secondly, her BF was being crazy; there is a lot more to that story, but I'll let her tell it on her blog! It was a blast for obvious reasons; it was great to be with my chicken again. We went out to Sushi House per tradition with the group and we also went out to Stiletto's to see Nina Flowers. It was an amazing and beautiful show. It sucks to see her go and I've promised to make a return trip, possibly for pride next year. That would be so much fun!

Okay, onward...I have started my job and lasted 4 whole days until Elba came down with hand, foot and mouth disease so that landed me home with a sick baby. I'm hoping to go to work tomorrow, but he still has some blisters on his feet that I'm hoping go away overnight. Poor little guy, he was in so much pain. I had to take him to the doctor and get Tylenol with codeine for him (and as a good faith effort get paperwork to show my boss that I was for realz!). The tricky part is that my health insurance ended on my last day of employment with HB. I called around and found a clinic that was low cost and would even help me complete the application for a state program for parents with uninsured children. I didn't have to pay out of pocket - score! We had visited friends with a baby the day before symptoms started and we are fearful he passed it along to her toddler, who is started to have some peculiar symptoms herself now.

I drove out here the Tuesday before last and had 3 days to procure daycare. I did so on Thursday after visiting 3 home day care providers. She charges $150/week which is what I was paying in Michigan (the others were $200-250), and is 5 minutes from work. I'm a little disappointed and this might now work out because even though she popped up in my search for providers with extended hours, she says she is done at 6pm and I will have late charges for the occasional after. I get that, but then update your freakin' info! I was hard up though, so I'm going with it for now.

Then I realized that I left my box of very important documents (like Elba's birth certificate, immunization records, etc. in MI). Along with the fact that I only had a few checks left and I also forgot those, I headed back on Friday and left Elba with my mom for the weekend. I'm glad I did, as there was a lot more packing & cleaning that I needed to do and I'd underestimated. I was able to sell my living room furniture for exactly what I still owed on it, so that took a load off. The other benefit was that I was able to see Louis.

Unlike my previous relationship, I'm happy to say that I can fully blog about the bliss that I'm in and gush about my entire life, not just the baby and work parts! So, Lou and I go back about 6 years ago when he was dating my room mate and I was also in a relationship. We had a wonderful friendship, and there was always an attraction there that was sort of ignored because of the situation. But it was there, and it was never forgotten. Well, long story short, it was brought out when we hung out before I left. He is exactly the same in the wonderful ways I loved about him before, is even more attractive, and has improved himself tremendously. If I could make a list of the perfect person for me, he totally fits the bill. Things are moving fast, and he is going to be relocating to Illinois with me when I go to get the rest of my stuff at the end of September. I'm really excited about where this is going and he is the fabulous guy I've ever known...this is serious business!

The housing search took an unexpected turn the other day when I started calling places to set up tours for this weekend when Louis comes to visit. Everywhere I called was reporting to me that they had NO VACANCY until maybe October, but maybe not until even later. I hadn't expected this, although I should have. Not only do most communities try to have their leases expire in the summer (when it is easier to fill), but with the housing market doing so poorly, that means apartments should be doing well. That is an understatement. I was shocked - Nothing?! I called a place that had an ad in the newspaper and she had 3 one bedroom apartments left. I got in my car, toured all 3 and picked one! I really wanted to do this part with Louis, but he said he understood too that it had to be done. Oh and yeah...a one bedroom. This will be a fun year! :) Taking a pay cut, having a huge car payment, hospital bills, and still repaying my student loans blows. I should be able to shovel out some this year though now!

My aunt and uncle are going to be disappointed. I'm staying with them right now (well, my Mom's at the moment so we don't pass along Elba's sickness to his 2 year old cousin) since I'm still paying rent in Michigan for August & September. They said I should stay there as long as I can to save money. I agree, this is a fantastic idea, but after doing the math it isn't that much of a savings in comparison to having my own established home. Okay, so I will be paying $450 for rent and utilities per month. If I stayed with aunt and uncle I need a storage unit for my stuff ($60/month average) and I'm driving 25 miles per day more ($120/month in gas). I'd also need to rent another truck when it was time to move from storage to the apartment. So, really the cost to move out is $270/month and I get back about 20 hours per month (40 minutes per day) of drive time. Elba also gets his own bedroom (yes, he is getting the huge bedroom to himself) and we can both sleep better. He wakes during the night and makes normal cries out, etc. but then I'm laying there listening to him debating if he is just fussing or do I need to do something. Whereas in his own room I think those small wakings I wouldn't even notice. I just feel like this is also a lot of change for him and I want to get him into a stable home that isn't going to change. I've delayed weaning from the bottle for this reason as well. He doesn't have any security objects so I can't take away his one favorite yet.

I've been through 4 days of training and I like it so far. I'm eager to get back to work, get fully trained and start doing my job.

Last but certainly not least - Elba walked today! He and I were sitting outside my Mom's house and he just stood right up and took about ten steps before going back down to crawl to the plant he wanted to inspect. They were wobbly, but he was on grass. He won't do it again for me, so I'm wondering if he has been secretly walking for a while now and forgot I was watching. Well, I'm counting it as first steps today although he has taken 1-3 steps before a few times. This was an official walking sited!

Oh, I haven't updated weight in a while. I think I've gained a little (maybe 5 lbs since being back in Illinois not being able to work out really and eating crappy). Working out at the gym in MI really did a lot for toning and making me feel great. But I think it was going back on Weight Watchers that really started having results (getting my points tracker out again now)! I'm down to 187 - that is 23 lbs less than pre-pregnancy. My clothes fit great and even are getting a little loose on me. Another ten and I think I'll have to start buying some new clothes. People have noticed and comment about how great I'm looking, which is an amazing incentive to keep up the good work. I only notice a little, but I love seeing the numbers keep going down on the scale...what a Choleric I am to love the challenge!

Okay, that is enough...I'm beat and ready for bed. It's been a crazy time lately and I will hopefully update again when I'm settled into the new place.

Fleeing Michigan

I have some pretty exciting news (depending on who you are). I have found and accepted a job in Bolingbrook, IL and will be starting on August 21st. Last year my old boss Shannon reached out to her old boss Colleen who is a regional director of senior living communities in Illinois. She told her my situation and that if anything came up I was wanted to move back home to Illinois. Well, a few weeks before Elba's birthday Colleen called and asked me to send my resume for an open Sales Director position. We had an interview while I was there for the birthday party and I got an offer when I got back home. I accepted and I'm pretty darn excited about it. My next career goal is be an executive director and you need to have direct sales experience generally. I was hoping a transfer might be an option since my current management company is being acquired by another (making it the largest in the country) but they have pushed back the date to Sept. 1 and chances of a transfer happening within the my time frame aren't good, so I'm taking this job. That isn't to say I'm not excited about it. I just would have liked to keep my benefits and seniority if possible. I'm actually quite excited about it. The community is beautiful, almost 100% occupied and has a wait list. Want to hear the best part? Some of things they do for outreach, being a tax credit property are volunteering within the community. Sounds very personally fulfilling as well. I'm a little overwhelmed right now thinking of moving, finding housing and daycare but I'm happy to know that soon things are going to be a bit easier and more calm. The bad news is the job is a significant pay cut for me and the cost of living is a little more expensive out there. I'm looking at at least $950-1,000 for a two bedroom apartment when that is what I'm paying here for a 3 bedroom townhouse. I'm guessing childcare will be more as well. The job is salary plus commission. Estimating my commission humbly, it is $5K less than my current salary. I might not get as much paid off (car, student loans, etc.) that I'd like but I'll still be able to live comfortably. I'm hoping that I can take some growth opportunities with this company if everything works out.

How did Mitch take it? That is what everyone keeps asking me. Well, we had talked during breakfast on fathers day about me still moving to Chicago and that conversation went very well. When I told him I accepted a job that interaction didn't quite go so well. He sort of said, "Hmm...congratulations" and that was it. When I later told him that I would have thought he would be happy and excited for me as my friend he said that no, he wasn't happy or excited for me because I am taking his boy far away from him. Okay...so that is how he is taking it. I'm hoping that when we move and things fall into place he will come around and be less....grumpy.

In 4 days Cristy is flying from CA to MI for our annual tubing trip (and to get her stuff out of my basement). I'm so excited to see her and can't wait! Yeah, so I went ahead and planned the last tubing trip for me likely. We have a smaller turnout than normal, but it should be fun nonetheless. Nate is coming out too...so that should be interesting. I'm very excited to see him as well. We also have Mitch, Justin and Jesse, Anne, Laura, Angie and Andrew.

Both birthday parties went very well. We did one party at Janet's and then one at my Mom's house the weekend after his bday. He held it together while and didn't meltdown so that was great. Both parties started at 2pm and wrapped up by 6ish. During our last pediatrician appointment (12 months) I asked for the next 'magic book' suggestion. I explained that Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child was the magic book that got me through once I understood sleep, colic and all that. So, I've downloaded Happiest Toddler on the Block to the Kindle and have started that one. I'm only maybe 20 pages in, but so far very good. It talks about how your toddler is more of a 'cave child' and not to think of them as 'little people' because they aren't. I like it...Okay, well the boy is going to wake up soon and we have a day off planned that we will need to get on.